Ovonic Battery Company

Germany’s BASF is taking advantage of government support for electric vehicles and deepening relationships with the likes of Daimler-Mercedes and Bosch. It is fast building a global Battery Materials business unit via more than $108 million in acquisitions just this young year.

BASF last month disclosed an investment of $50 million to take equity ownership position in Sion Power, Tucson-based “global leader in the development of lithium-sulfur” batteries.

NiMH — nickel metal hydride — battery technology developed by ECD-Ovonic powers most of the world’s hybrid electric vehicles, including Toyota’s popular Prius